TODAY’S SIGNATURE VERSE ••• Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5 NKJV)
PRAISE & PRAYER PROMPT ••• I used to be a movie enthusiast, but I really don’t watch them very much anymore. I get easily bored and restless — feeling like I need to do something else. But a new movie was released this summer, and I thought it looked super fun and cute. After weeks of waiting, it was finally available to rent on YouTube, and I watched “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” on Friday night. Honestly — it was one of the most wholesome movies I’ve seen produced by the secular market in a very, very long time.
For those who aren’t familiar — here’s a very short overview: Mrs. Harris is a widowed cleaning lady in London who scrimps and saves so she can travel to Paris to purchase a Christian Dior dress. The film is set in the 1950s, so there are lots of great costumes and fun sets. And throughout the movie — you root for this woman, the underdog, who dares to push against the narrative in her determination to have the dress of her dreams.
The story was as fun and charming as I expected. But there were also some profound spiritual lessons from the movie.
- Dreams can easily become idols.
Mrs. Harris is first introduced to the haute couture of Christian Dior when cleaning the home of one of her wealthy clients. We see the craving in her eyes for a beautiful dress to call her own.
It’s all well and good to have a dream. Dreams fuel our ambitions and give us momentum to keep going. However, when dreams because all-consuming and our singular focus — they become idols.
Not only are we warned about idols in the 10 Commandments (Exodus 20:3-6), the prophet Isaiah warned of them in Isaiah 44:9a, “Those who make an image, all of them are useless, And their precious things shall not profit.” In short — idols do not benefit us. They are useless.
- People and things will never satisfy us.
Spoiler Alert! Mrs. Harris focuses her time and money on this perfect Christian Dior dress, but what she truly craves is love. Her husband was killed in action years before, and she longs to be seen. She told her best friend, “That’s what we are, Vi. The invisible women.”
In her quest to be visible, she fixates on the object of her desire to make it so, while the love she seeks is simply waiting for her to look up.
Similarly, God is patiently waiting for the people He created to look toward Him. 2 Peter 3:9 reminds us, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” His all-consuming love is ours for the taking if we turn to Him and surrender our lives to His Son, Jesus Christ.
- When our focus is on anything other than Christ, we will be left disappointed.
Another Spoiler Alert! Mrs. Harris eventually gets her Christian Dior gown, and before she has a chance to wear it, another one of her wealthy (and spoiled) clients comes to her begging for help for a special event. Being an incredibly kind character, Mrs. Harris selflessly loans her dress, and her client selfishly destroys it. Mrs. Harris is bereft from the loss.
While Mrs. Harris’ gesture was incredibly kind, she was left disappointed because it was the idol she was focused on. So when it was taken from her, she was profoundly grieved.
Christ has something better for us. Everything about this life is just stuff. It’s temporary. Nothing here lasts. We may secure the dream dress, but something gets spilled on it…. We may secure the dream house, but a faulty wire causes a fire…. We may earn the dream job, but it may cost us peace of mind, time with family, and when we can no longer work — the job will be given to someone else.
It’s like gold. We spend our lives pursuing money and riches. Yet, in heaven, all gold is good for is to be used as pavement (Revelation 21:21). Even the diamond necklace I wear 24/7 — it’s priceless to me because it was my grandmother’s, but at the end of the day – it’s a rock. I wear it because it was hers, but I know for a fact that my grandmother is not in heaven pining for her diamond necklace — God has given her something better…. Eternity with Him.
Only Jesus satisfies. And since He is the bread of life (John 6:35) and the living water (John 4:14) — we can be assured that He will be enough for us. We will never long for anything else to satisfy us because Jesus is everything we need — now and forever.
So…. If I ruined the movie for you, I’m sorry. I still think it’s a great story. While I’m certain the writers and directors didn’t intend to provide these spiritual lessons – I’m glad they were there. I’ll re-watch the movie for the story, but be thankful for the reminders it gave me.
Today, as you pray, thank Jesus for being enough. Ask the Holy Spirit to guard your heart against idols. Ask Him to help you be satisfied only in Christ. And ask Him to help you keep your focus on Jesus.
Obviously — today is not Friday. My friend, Lexi, asked me about the blog on Friday. Due to my work schedule, it’s getting increasingly more difficult for me to write on Fridays, so I am experimenting with moving the blog posts to Sundays.
SHARING ••• My Grace-Full Life is written by Denise Heidel. You are welcome to share anything I write, but please credit my writing and graphics accordingly. Visit www.MyGraceFullLife.com to read past blogs. Subscribe through my website to have My Grace-Full Life delivered to your email. You can unsubscribe at any time. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the NKJV translation.
